Located in Portland's Old Port District, Fore Street opened in June, 1996. The interior surrounds a unique brick and soapstone hearth with a wood-burning oven, grill and turnspit; visible from most tables. We believe that good food travels the shortest possible distance between the farm and the table. Our menu changes every day and is founded upon the very best raw materials from a community of Maine farmers, fisherman, foragers and cheese makers. Most of the Maine foods are organically grown or harvested wild, each brought to us at the peak of its season. In 2002 and again in 2007, Fore Street was named by Gourmet Magazine as one of the Top Fifty Restaurants in the United States. In 2004, Chef-Partner Sam Hayward was named Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation.

Fore Street has free parking from 5pm to 12am in the parking lot behind the building, depending on availability. Street parking is available as well as customer paid parking in 2 parking garages within 1 block.

Favorite restaurant in Portland for a long time. Will always be. With all of these new places popping up, all of the food competition. I've tired it all. This place is a Portland ORIGINAL and nothing will ever compare. I keep coming back, over, and over again.

After dinner, we discussed our experience. We both agreed the dinner at Fore Street was in our Top 4 meals of all time...and we eat out a lot. The ambiance, food, wine / cocktails and service were spectacular. From the homemade bread, oysters, beet salad, lamb and short ribs, we were blown away and wouldn’t have changed a thing. We’ll definitely be back. Hopefully we can save room for dessert on our next visit!

This restaurant is a regional gem. Outstanding menu, excellent wine and cocktail menu and their bread is made in the basement by the Standard Baking Co, a James Beard nominee. The have an open wood split and a wood fired oven in their open kitchen. You can see everything being prepared. Its a fantastic experience. This is a must visit restaurant if you are visiting Portland.

This was my first visit back to Fore Street in about 15 years and it was ok. When I went in the past I had some truly memorable meals and this time I had a pork chop that was extremely salty (this is coming from someone who likes salt), was cooked well, and was...well...a pork chop. I will definitely go back and expecting it to be better next time.

I’m a long time PORTLAND resident, and have frequented Fore St many times since it’s opening, but our last trip was disappointing. It started as soon as we got seated at the our table. We had arrived early and shared a bottle of very nice wine, in which we proceeded to bring to our table, glasses that were half full to almost empty. Thus, we immediately ordered a fresh bottle from our server. She brought the bottle to the table along with fresh glasses. As she opened the bottle, we told her that there was no need to go thru the formality of tasting the new pour and that we were fine with using the glasses we already had in hand. Well, she was put out by this gesture and stated that “this is how we do it here”. We were not offended by this, as we don’t take life that seriously, but it set the “tone” for the meal with our server. From then on, there was complete inflexibility with almost every part of the meal. For example, only serving red meat either med rare or well done. No chance of getting it any other way. To, a fish meal that was over cooked, which was okay with my friend. But she had asked out server if there was ANY type of sauce that could be provided to help with the dryness, only to be told “we don’t have any sauces”. Really...a 5 star restaurant and the chef or pro in the kitchen couldn’t whip something up. A Wednesday night in January in Maine, the place was not even close to being at capacity. Any amateur could have done it in less than a minute. I’m really at a loss for an explanation, not sure if our server was just very inexperienced or if the restaurant has really taken to this very stringent way of serving their customers. I’m hoping it’s the former versus the latter. I know Mr. Street and his staff don’t think so highly of themselves as to put this type of service in to practice as we frequent Scales often and Street Co on occasion and the level of service never waivers. This is only meant as constructive feedback. Pls contact me for more info

Our server was very attentive, the food was beautifully presented, the options were well varied, the taste was Michelin worthy, the setting was quiet and romantic, with a beautiful view of the harbor... a meal with drinks, appetizer, main course, and deserts - for four - cost $350-400 (including gratuity). One could order water and just the entree for about $25-35 pp, if you want to be thrifty (not including gratuity). I recommend this restaurant for almost any occasion - even if you have (well-behaved) kids.

OK, we are older. We reserve on OpenTable. And, by the way, we dine out 200-300 times a year. Why were we seated in a small cold room off of the dining room? Why did we get a totally clueless server? We will come back but we will eat at the bar.

This is the finest restaurant in the United States. The rapidly expanding and ubiquitously praised Portland, Maine "food scene" traces its roots directly to Fore Street. What is most impressive, is that Fore Street has not rested on its laurels, and mailed-it-in, the past few years. They continue to push the envelope and produce incredible dining experiences (that are not intimidating) night-in and night-out. Every member of the staff, from the host, to the bar staff, to servers and the kitchen are, without exception, as warm and approachable as the oh-so-comfortable couches and chairs by the front window.

The menu changes nightly, reflecting what's fresh, and also what is responsible to feature, given their commitment to sustainable harvesting and sourcing. You will, without fail, find more than one item for each of the appetizer and entrees that you'll really want to order. The staff will guide you in the right direction.

Fore Street is one of those exceedingly rare restaurants that lives up to the enormous hype surrounding it. If you find yourself in Portland, make a reservation at Fore Street. Go early, have a drink by the bar and chat with the staff. Take your time with the menu. Take it all in, this will be on of the best meals, and the finest dinning experiences you'll ever have. Until you return. Again and Again. And again...

My husband and I ate at Fore Street several years ago and once again it did not disappoint. They were attentive, professional and friendly and met our specific menu requests. There was also a handwritten card on our table congratulating us on our anniversary. Great rustic (warehouse) decor with an open kitchen.

Had heard a lot of good things about this place. Went for the first time recently with my girlfriend and was disappointed. The ambiance is amazing. The service was rude and rushed. The food was maybe slightly over average but not spectacular. Love their sister restaurant, “ street & co.” Just blocks away

I hadn't been to Fore Street for a while and wondered if the experience would still be as good as I remembered. I was not disappointed. The food is still spectacular. The rope harvested mussels are so big and meaty, and they had a marinated squid appetizer that was outstanding. My date had a scallop dish with red grits that was wonderful. The waiter was very good, except that he could have been more familiar with the menu. While the menu changes daily, I expect the server at a high end restaurant to know everything about it. Still, it was a great experience and I look forward to going back again.

Always enjoy Fore Street. Love the ambiance and the energy that you feel immediately as you enter the front doors. Being able to watch the dedicated chefs at work is a bonus. All this being said we both had issues with our meals. The oysters were not properly shucked. My roasted chicken was served too rare. This is not going to keep us from returning but quality control should be addressed.

Everything was fantastic at Fore Street-except for our waiter. We ordered a bottle of wine immediately when we sat down and then selected, ordered, received and finished our delicious appetizers without our wine while our waiter stood at the next table discussing his grad school experiences. We waved him over but he kept talking for another few minutes before coming over. There were other missteps on his part -no bread until after the appetizers etc. and only after we asked what the butter was for. That being said, the chicken was the best I've ever tasted, and the porkbelly, oysters and sweetbreads were amazing. Tough to recover from poor service however.

It’s difficult to rate a place because there’s such a big variety of a persons tastes in food. What one person loves. Another not so much. But if you like food that is freshly prepared by chefs in an open kitchen right in front of the entire restaurant .. meaning you can literally watch it all happening. With amazingly fresh ingredients purchased from local fisherman, farmers and producers. And bread made in the bakery owned by the restaurant literally on the story right below where you are sitting, you will love fore street. I ordered a lamb chop dish and the waiter even described to me where the lamb came from and the diet of grasses it lived on because he knew the farm their lamb comes from. And was able to accurately describe the flavor of it. From top to bottom. This is one of my favorite spots. Not just in Maine. But anywhere in the World, and I should note. I’ve been to 103 countries on every continent. So if you’re in the Portland area. Do not miss fore street !!

I love the AMBIENCE here, but this last time, we had a really rowdy group who was louder than all hell. We couldn’t even hear each other talk. I think it would be really good if management kept their eye out about that. But I also love and TRULY appreciate the vegetarian options available. Please keep it up!